Unnecessary Risk Part 3 (Attack on Titan LeviHan Levi X Hange Levi X H
by Jen Ague
Summary: Part 3. Hange Wakes up. Armin tells her what happened. Levi saved her, but why? ### I own nothing. Everything belongs to Hajime Isayama. I watched the anime but I haven't read the manga yet.


Unnecessary Risk Part 3

Levi X Hange Fanfic

Hange stifled a scream before she could even open her eyes. The pain was the first thing that hit her once she gained consciousness. Her eyes still closed, she could see only blackness, but her leg felt as if it were on fire.

She hadn't expected there to be pain after death, only darkness and the void and nothingness, but here she was, feeling the pain of a thousand white hot knives slicing into the flesh of her leg. She tried to move but the pain was too great. Instead she let out a muffled groan.

"She's awake!" she heard a voice whisper.

Armin? Was that Armin? Oh no, had the boy been killed in the expedition too? Was he in as much pain as she was? Was this what those religious freaks called Hell?

"Ar-Armin," Hange managed to croak out in a voice that barely sounded like her own.

"Hange, can you open your eyes?" he said.

Hange felt a hand grasp her own and squeeze. She tried to say something, but all that came out was another groan.

"She might need some water or something," another voice said. Mikasa?

Hange felt a cool liquid on her lips. She opened her mouth and let the water trickle over her tongue and down her throat. It was the sweetest feeling in the world.

"Can you open your eyes?" Armin's voice repeated.

Hange tried but her eyelids felt like anchors had been sewn on to them. She groaned again and with more strength than the simple action should require she finally managed to open her eyes.

At first she saw white then her vision focused as much as it could without her glasses. She could make out the blurry blond visage of Armin Alert's boyish face and the stern yet concerned face of Mikasa Ackerman.

By now, Hange realized that she was in fact alive, but that scenario didn't make sense at all. The memory of the bell tower and Mikasa flying away with Eren Yeager had come back to her along with the pain in her leg. She remembered what she thought would be her last moments. She remembered accepting her death.

"Eren? Is he-?" Hange said in a low whisper. Her strength was slowly coming back to her. She had to know if humanity's best hope had survived. If he hadn't, then everything they did was for nothing.

"He's fine," Mikasa said quietly. She touched the red scarf around her neck almost instinctively as she spoke. "He was banged up a bit but his Titan healing kicked in. He's already up and moving around which is more than we can say for you."

Hange breathed a sigh of relief but then remembered the bell tower again. Yes, Eren was alive and safe, but she shouldn't be. Her ODM gear-she had given it to Mikasa. Did Mikasa come back for her? If that was true then Mikasa should have been in a dungeon now awaiting trial for violation of the statute that Levi and Erwin had put in place to reduce Scout casualties.

"How?" Hange asked. "How am I…?"

Mikasa and Armin looked at each other for a moment, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell her. Finally Armin turned back to her.

"Captain Levi," he said. "Captain Levi went back for you and got you right before the bell tower collapsed."

"You two barely made it back before his ODM gear gave out," Mikasa added.

"Levi?" Hange whispered. It was the last thing she expected to hear. Levi was the one who suggested the decree after an exceptionally gruesome expedition loss a few years ago. They had gone beyond the Wall Maria with fourty-six scouts and returned with only nine, four of whom were seriously injured. And it was all due a a group turning back for a scout who had been cornered by three titans.

"Old sour puss himself?" Hange said. She smiled and shifted in the bed, but winced when a burning pain shot up her leg.

"Try not to move too much," Armin told her. "The doctor managed to salvage your leg, but there was a lot of damage. You may not have feeling in certain parts anymore, and in other parts the pain might never go away, and-" He stopped himself.

"And what?" Hange urged him.

"You're going to have a really bad limp from now on. You won't be able to go on any more scouting missions."

A sting that had nothing to do with the pain in her leg shot through Hange. She sniffed and nodded. "It's okay," she said trying to not only convince Armin and Mikasa but herself. "It's okay. I thought I was dead. I can live with a limp."

Hange tried her best to smile and looked from one blurry face to another but couldn't tell if she was convincing them that she was alright. She needed her glasses. "Wait a minute," she said suddenly. "What about Levi?"

Mikasa and Armin looked at one another again then back to Hange.

"He's being court martialed tomorrow morning," Mikasa said finally, "because of what happened."

Hange closed her eyes and sucked in a huge breath. She laid still on the infirmary bed for a moment before opening her eyes again. "Mikasa," she said softly. "Could you tell Commander Erwin that I'm awake?"

Mikasa nodded and left right away. Hange watched her leave and waited until the young scout was well out of earshot before she turned to Armin. She grabbed the collar of his shirt pulled him down until he was nose to nose with her.

"Armin," she said in a hushed tone. "Armin did you tell anyone about what I told you in Commander Erwin's office? Did you tell Mikasa or Eren?"

"W-what? About you leaving m-me in charge if you…?"

"Shh!" Hange looked around, but no one was in the infirmary with them. "Did you tell anyone?"

Armin shook his head. "N-no. I-I never got a chance to. There's been so much going on back to back. Honestly I forgot about it."

Hange let go of him and breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. That's very good. Make sure that you don't tell anyone if they come asking you. Captain Levi's life may depend on it."

She sank back into her pillow and closed her eyes again, trying not to think about the pain in her leg and the weird feeling that wasn't quite pain in her chest.

"Here," Armin said handing her a huge white capsule. "The doctor said you should take this for the pain."

"Thank you," Hange said taking the pill and water that Armin handed her. She swallowed it in one gulp and hoped that it would kick in soon. She noticed that Armin was still standing over her as if he was waiting to say something.

"Armin? Is there anything else?"

The boy blushed and shook his head. "N-no, it's just…" He paused for a long moment before continuing. "I've been thinking about it ever since that day and-why do you think Captain Levi went back for you?"

"I don't know, Armin," Hange said after thinking for a moment. "I suppose you'd have to ask him."

"No, no. I-I guess I phrased that the wrong way. What I mean is, I think I know why he went back for you."

Hange sat up as much as her injuriess would allow. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Armin said. "Why does Mikasa always go back for Eren? I mean yes, he's considered vital to humanity's survival, but that's just a convenience for Mikasa. What I mean is, even if he was just some lowly rookie scout, she'd go back every time to save him. She'd risk her own life and probably the lives of everyone around her if it meant that Eren would survive, but that's only because she loves him."

Hange laid frozen in place. What Armin was hinting at didn't make any sense. Yes, everyone knew what Mikasa felt for Eren, well, everyone knew except for Eren. But Levi? In all the years that Hange had known him, Levi Ackerman had never uttered a single kind word to her. He always called her four eyes or shitty glasses or freak, but Hange didn't mind.

She knew that Levi was an extremely capable soldier and his humor was dark and dry which she liked even though it was the opposite of her own. She liked his little quirks too, like how much of a clean freak he was and how easy it was to annoy him. While it was always hard for Hange to stay still and keep quiet, Levi was always cool and stoic. Most people found his demeanor to be unnerving, but she admired this about him, even though she would never say it out loud.

Hange let out a loud laugh. One that echoed off of the infirmary walls and agitated the pain in her leg that had been dulling a bit since she'd taken the pill. "Are you saying that Captain Levi is in love with me?" She laughed again.

Armin blushed and shrunk away in embarrassment. "I-I don't know. It was the only explanation I could come up with."

Hange chuckled. "Gee, maybe I should take back my recommendation to have you succeed me. We need someone with a little more common sense than that. Come on, Armin," she continued when she saw that the boy was not convinced. "You've seen the way Levi treats me. He's more likely to strangle me than to kiss me. I don't know what exactly caused him to do what he did but I'm grateful. He was probably under duress. It happens to the best of us out there, you know. No matter how many times you've faced battle, sometimes it just gets to you and you do things you usually wouldn't do. Actions of valor, actions of stupidity, or some combination of the two."

Armin pondered this for a moment then nodded. "I guess you're right. Maybe he was in duress. That battle was so long and horrible. Who could blame him?"

Hange nodded. "Yes, it's true. Now if you don't mind Armin, I'd like to get some rest. I think that pill is kicking in and making me loopy."

"Oh right! Of course!" Armin turned and made his way to the infirmary door. He was just about to leave when he turned back to Hange. "I'm glad Captain Levi was under duress. I'm glad we didn't lose you out there."

"I am too," Hange said. Armin smiled and left the infirmary.

Hange, now alone with nobody to lie to but herself, tried her best to keep up the charade.

 _Of course it was duress_ , she thought. _Levi doesn't feel anything for me but disdain, and even if he did- I don't know- love me, I wouldn't care...would I?_


End file.
